Pretty hard to beat the 30-06 Carbine or the 308 Patrol Rifle. There are one or two guys on another board I visit that have the Patrol rifles and they LOVE!! them. IIRC, one of the guys took a Weaver mount and chopped it a bit, added a few holes to the top of the reciver and now uses the peep sight as back-up and has a scope mounted as well. The areas we hunt are fairly thick and the carbine of mine carries real nice. My catridge choice limits my shots, but a 308 or 30-06 would do real well in just about any instance.

The more you know, the less you need.